I will make this topic meaningful for students by always connecting the concepts to students' lives. This unit will explain why every person on Earth is unique, which is something that will hopefully interest students. Inquiry will be used in the very first lesson as students try to put themselves in Gregor Mendel's shoes to determine results of genetic crosses. I will assess students learning through multiple formative assessments such as observations of their work during activities, homework assignments, and mini projects. I will give one quiz and one test for this unit on genetics. The pre-assessment Learning Goals Inventory will show me what prior knowledge students have about genetics and will allow me to make the proper adjustments to the lesson sequence. The lesson sequence is designed to introduce the most basic concepts of genes and alleles first and build on that as the unit progresses. I put the student objectives in an order that makes sense for learning. For each activity, I will provide a task sheet that describes each step of the activity so that students can follow it and stay engaged.
VERY IMPORTANTYour rationale should focus on the following questions: How did you make the topic meaningful for students? How did you make use of inquiry? What are the ways in which you assessed student learning? How did you take account of students' prior experiences and knowledge? How will you sequence lessons so that they support the understanding of the learning outcomes? How will you help students make sense of the materials? Please make use of class readings and discussions in writing your rationale. The rationale is important because it serves as evidence that you are thinking about the unit like a teacher, i.e. going beyond "writing plans" to thinking about how you are going to engage your students with a topic in a way that builds over two or three weeks.
VERY IMPORTANTYour rationale should focus on the following questions: How did you make the topic meaningful for students? How did you make use of inquiry? What are the ways in which you assessed student learning? How did you take account of students' prior experiences and knowledge? How will you sequence lessons so that they support the understanding of the learning outcomes? How will you help students make sense of the materials? Please make use of class readings and discussions in writing your rationale. The rationale is important because it serves as evidence that you are thinking about the unit like a teacher, i.e. going beyond "writing plans" to thinking about how you are going to engage your students with a topic in a way that builds over two or three weeks.